“Opulence” is one of the words that hit the lips of showgoers throughout the season as designers continued to debut extravagant looks on the runways. In recent years, quiet luxury and minimalism have set the tone for style largely rooted in simplicity and pared-back pieces. For spring 2025, however, we’ve seeing the opposite play out with a return to the unbridled maximalism that has been absent from fashion for many seasons. At Saint Laurent, we saw this in the form of brocade jackets, ruffled satin skirts, high-neck lace tops, and gemstone-encrusted pumps. At Loewe, dramatic, sculptural jackets were executed in gleaming mother-of-pearl. At Dries Van Noten, tapestry-print satin jackets were paired with heavily embellished pencil skirts. This new sense of opulence takes on a “more is more” approach to style that is ornate, lavish, and undeniably grand.

The moment the Tory Burch show concluded at the Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn, editors began discussing the peep-toe heels from the runway. The shoes were designed with a towering and curved heel, glossy finish, and cutout peep toe positioned near the inner corners—an instant must-have item on our 2025 shopping lists. It was also one of the first glimpses at the peep-toe trend that swept the collections. At Khaite, minimal pumps with a micro cutout hit the runway. At ACNE Studios, slingbacks were finished with a spherical peep toe and an elongated, squared-off silhouette. At Prada, the designers resurrected styles from the archives, including a fall/winter 2008 version that was notably released during one of the last times peep-toe shoes were widely popular. Now, its comeback is sweeping and imminent. Instead of more traditional styles, the peep-toe heels of 2025 are returning with modern takes that reimagine the classic cutout shoes.

It’s cuffing season, and nowhere was that mindset more prevalent than at the spring/summer 2025 shows across New York, London, Paris, and Milan. The fashion world, like us, is craving romance and expressing itself via soft, sheer, and flowing chiffon fabrics in ethereal shades and delicate floral patterns that immediately evoke images of a Keira Knightley period piece filmed in a grassy countryside at the peak of summer. At Chanel, airiness and flight were the cornerstones of its S/S 25 collection, with capes and feathers both finding places on models wearing transparent materials in a brightly lit Grand Palais. Chemena Kamali’s sophomore collection for Chloé was the perfect continuation of her first, including bubble hems, lingerie-like lace, and florals, all through a bohemian lens. At Khaite, Creative Director Catherine Holstein utilized see-through fabrics and pale shades to cue a shift in her design strategy catalyzed by motherhood, according to an interview from Vogue.

You’ve heard of the wrong-shoe theory, a styling trick coined by stylist Allison Bornstein that involves pairing an outfit with shoes that would normally feel mismatched or incorrect to create a more interesting, adventurous ensemble. But have you heard of the wrong-jacket theory? Probably not, which makes sense given that we just made it up. The spring/summer 2025 runways made it abundantly clear that personal style and individualism will reign supreme when warmer weather arrives later on next year, and one of the many ways that that was showcased was in the form of stylists topping looks with seemingly incompatible jacket options, specifically sporty and technical silhouettes. See sequin dresses at Prada, Brandon Maxwell, Rabanne, and Burberry combined with clashing outerwear, from nylon zip-ups to fur-trimmed parkas. In other words, expect the unexpected, and don’t be afraid to play around with your top layers when spring arrives.

Textiles are taking on more tactile forms, which are showing up in a number of iterations in the spring/summer 2025 collections. Whether soft-to-the-touch feathers or twisting fringe that showcases a new sense of engineering in fabrics, the pieces automatically inspire a want of touch. Alaïa introduced voluminous, spiraled fringe coats, and Proenza Schouler executed fringe in the form of miniskirts and strapless dresses. Chanel added a playful, light touch to romantic feathers, while Loewe took on feathers in a modern way that fused them into a textile nearly resembling a woven fabric. Khaite layered pom-pom skirts under tailored outerwear. Bottega Veneta showcased hats that resembled rubber Koosh balls from childhood. Each look took on textiles in a touchable, feel-good way, emphasizing a renewed exploration of outside-the-ordinary textures.